


Promise

by cc_keb



Series: In Another Life [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Healer Draco Malfoy, Healer Harry Potter, M/M, Post-War, Soulmates, St. Mungo's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 22:57:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15616872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cc_keb/pseuds/cc_keb
Summary: When Harry hears a single sentence, his soulmark fades away and he is left with the knowledge that Draco Malfoy is his soulmate.





	Promise

So this is my first Drarry drabble posted so please don’t actually murder me when something is wrong. Also, yes, I am aware my grammar is horrid, please excuse it. You can send (and find) requests for more fics similar to this [here.](https://krecs-drarry.tumblr.com/post/176749797463/send-me-a-ship-and-a-number-and-ill-write-a-short)

ANYWAYS! In this soulmate AU, you’re born with a sentence on your arm. When you finally hear your soulmate say it, it disappears. Hopefully, you’ll like it!

…

    Although Harry loved his job, he certainly did not like some of the things it involved. Well, that wasn’t quite true; it wasn’t the work per say, it was the people. Harry had always been a bit nitpicky as to whom he’d spend his time with. Not because he saw himself as better than everyone else, but merely because he knew just how fast (and easily) lives could be taken. So, why force an awkward interaction when he was already awkward enough on his own?

    “Healer Potter?” A small child, Katherine, called. Harry turned from the window and grinned at her. He crouched down a tinge so he could see her better and greeted her warmly. “Hullo, Kat. What do you have there?” His eyes flitted down to gaze at the object hidden behind her back. Smiling wide, she yanked it forward and pushed it up towards his tall frame. “A book!” She told him, y’know, just in case he wasn’t completely sure.

    Gently, he took the book from her outstretched hands and turned it so he could read the title:  _[‘Guess How Much I Love You’,](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.owlsone.co.jp%2Fkkbc%2Ftheme%2FGuess%2520How%2520Much%2520I%2520Love%2520You.pdf&t=MWFlYmQ1ZWVlNDhhMGVhOTIzMmU2NTI2YWUxMjVmYTk4NWVhYTExOSxtNTlzZnljRQ%3D%3D&b=t%3ApyofPXwxmB6pA_T8x3BFGQ&p=https%3A%2F%2Fkrecs-drarry.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F176774575593%2Fpromise-drarry&m=1)_  it read. His eyebrows raised in surprise. Guess How Much I Love You was a British children’s book and a muggle book. Surely she was a pureblood though, so how had she…? It took a moment before he shook it off, reminding himself harshly not to be biased. Not all rich purebloods were snobby and arrogant, he knew this. His best friend, Ron, and his considered family, the Weasleys, were nothing of the sort (although not rich either.)  Internally, he smacked himself for judging her and her family without direct evidence, it was completely unfair and made him feel sick to think any longer.

    Harry swallowed a great lump in his throat and returned to reality. “I used to love this book!” He exclaimed as she giggled with excitement. “Read, read, read!” She demanded with a large tooth-filled smile. Harry pretended to have to think it over before he agreed and gracelessly flopped into the chair by her bedside. “All right,” he spoke, “but first, you have to get ready for bed.” Wordlessly she nodded and skipped off to brush her teeth.

    Once she had settled he had begun reading to her softly. He knew his voice wasn’t the best, but he hoped it would be enough for her to enjoy. She deserved it after a week full of potion bottles and uncontrollable magic. “Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed…” Behind his glasses, his emerald eyes softened. He placed the small book in his lap as he turned the page. “‘But I love YOU this much,’ he said,” Harry moved his arms outwards to show just how much. Kathrine watched with a sleepy gaze as Harry’s robes brushed back, exposing his soulmark. Squinting she made out a single sentence:  _ **you don’t know anything.**_

    She frowned at the words, confused. Why was his soulmate so mean? Of course, Harry knew stuff, especially the stuff about Quidditch! The next time Healer Potter paused to turn the page she spoke up, “what does your soulmark mean?” Harry stiffened and glanced up at the soft mocha eyes of the girl. “I’m not sure yet. Now let’s get back to the story.”

…

    It had been a good three days since Katherine’s curiosity showed and asked that dreaded question, the very same question he had been thinking just about his entire life. He wondered what his parents had thought, he wondered who his soulmate was, and he wondered why. Hadn’t he done enough? Why was he cursed to have such a bloody awful soulmark to accompany his jagged bolt scar. There was no use questioning the universe, he knew this, but he wouldn’t be Harry Potter if he didn’t.

    To make matters worse, it was a Monday morning when Draco Malfoy, of all people, had walked into the children’s play area to read to them. Harry had been seated at a tiny circular table in the corner of the room with Eltanin, a child who had suffered a particularly bad splinching accident when he had entered the room. Malfoy took notice to Harry almost immediately, as he usually did, and his almost-smile instantly flattened into a harsh line. Swiftly, he turned away from Harry and purposely spoke just quiet enough that Harry could not hear him. Harry’s semi-forced smile twitched in annoyance as he turned his attention back to the boy in front of him; just barely resisted the urge to use an Amplifying Charm,

    About a half an hour later, Malfoy still sat on the reading bench, a caramel toned book curved within the palms of his milky white hands. Harry, still struggled to keep his attention on Eltanin. Stupid poncy (but fit) git, he cursed. Swallowing his bottom lip back as he watched him read aloud to the kids. Malfoy had started his rotation in the children’s department about a month ago, and hell had it been a month. It wasn’t as if they ran into each other much inside or outside the department, but it was often enough to make him frequently question his sanity. Their actual close encounters involved tight-lipped greetings and involuntary glances at each other’s arses, mostly on Harry’s part.

    “Malfoy,” grunted an unfamiliarly familiar Healer. Harry quickly took note of his obvious lack of use of titles and or, respect. Malfoy turned from the book he had been reading to all the wide-eyed children and gave the man a short glance before turning back around, ignoring him.

    “Malfoy,” the man repeated, his annoyance steadily growing with his volume. “A word, please,” he said gruffly, his demand hidden behind kinder words. Huffing in annoyance, Malfoy rolled his impressively silver-blue eyes and passed the book off to a nearby Healer, standing to follow the other man out the room. Harry rubbed his thumb inside his palm with anticipation as he softly dismissed Eltanin for the afternoon, deciding to follow them. Y’know, just in case, or something.

    As Harry crept from the room his felt himself smirk, what Hermione and Ron would say if they knew he was falling back into one of his old habits with alarming ease? That very habit having been following Malfoy. Silently, Harry wished he could cast a Disillusion Charm without alerting the entirety of the fourth floor. Harry paused suddenly when he heard Malfoy’s voice.

    “What do you want?” Malfoy’s tone held little anger, just plain annoyance and exhaustion. “What do you think you’re doing, ‘aye?” Malfoy’s eyes flickered to meet that of the other Healer’s and narrowed.

    “Excuse me?”

    “I said what the bloody fuck do you think you’re doing Malfoy, huh? Trying to brainwash these kids like your criminal-of-a-father did to you? I mean honestly, do you really expect everyone to stand by and let you– a death eater, ruin these kids! They all may be too scared to say anything but I’m not. Your family no longer has the money or the power to–”

    “You better shut your mouth, Dazans! Don’t act like you know me or my family, because frankly,  _ **you don’t know anything.”**_

   By the sound of quiet humming magic, Harry assumed Dazans was taken back by Malfoy actually fighting back. After both the war and his trial, Malfoy had seemed to shut down, or at least from what Harry had seen he had. He ignored all signs of living things unless they were of use or importance to him, just about everyone knew this. All was silent for a moment, and then the faint sound of the man walking away rang throughout the hall and a tickling feeling appeared under the skin of Harry’s arm.

    Wide-eyed he scrambled to push his sleeves up to see the cause. With absolute horror, he discovered exactly what was wrong: his soulmark was gone. It was a surreal feeling, he thought. Almost like walking down a staircase and thinking there’s one last step or jumping tits first into ice ridden water in the middle of fucking  _January._  A small part of him wanted to dance in circles and sing because he had found his soulmate and it was Malfoy, but the rest of him wanted to–well he wasn’t really sure what he did want to do. He just knew that whatever the reason, it was most likely because his soulmate was Draco sodding Malfoy, the world’s biggest git.

    Harry remained frozen solid, his vision going in and out of focus as he was on the verge of a bloody panic attack. Of course, of course, his soulmate was Malfoy. One of the only living people who absolutely hated him. He wondered briefly if Malfoy knew that he was his destined one. Surely not, he would have been screaming by now.

    Malfoy turned around to face a badly hidden Harry Potter in the middle of the hall. Harry took in the details of Malfoy’s frustration. His milky-white skin was now sodden with a light tinge of baby pink. His jaw and fists remained tightly clenched while his wand just barely peeked from the tip of his robes. Malfoy met his eye with a look of anger.

    “What?” he snapped, having gotten annoyed over the course of a month of Potter’s unruly staring. He had no right to stare anymore. Draco had paid his dues and he was working extra hard just to be able to feed himself, didn’t he deserve a break? It had been several years since the war. So what if he still didn’t forgive himself for taking the mark, that didn’t mean others couldn’t forgive him.

     _ **“Why did it have to be you?”**_  It was an accident, truly. Harry really hadn’t meant to say it aloud. By the stung look Malfoy was presenting, Harry had a feeling those words meant a lot more than he knew. Malfoy looked down at the tickling feeling to find his palm now blank. Draco’s heart dropped deep into the pit of his stomach, closing his throat alongside it. He felt naked, he felt exposed, and most of all he felt like a fucking fool. His soulmate was Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the golden boy, and most importantly, his enemy. Maybe, Draco thought, he was destined a life of misery since day one.

    “I’m sorry your soulmate ended up a death eater,” he said numbly. Potter’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “No I, I didn’t– I didn’t know! I wish I’d known,” Potter said pathetically, grasping at grass. Draco nodded once, a sign of recognition before slowly walking towards him.

    Maybe, if he were lucky, Potter would let him apologize, let him try and make it up to him. Maybe things would work out in the end. He had little hope, but just maybe they would learn to love and to forget. Even if that stupid git did still annoy the hell out of him. And then, all the years of hate and misery felt like nothing as Harry met him in the middle and connected their lips in a sweet promise. A promise to do better, in both love and in life.

**_2018/8/8. (#1)_ **

 

 


End file.
